Archive for February, 2009

I know, it’s the third time I use that title. It just fits well. I never have time to blog when I’m in the middle of all exams, and then the first blog post when I’m done with the exams, is just… that. So, a few updates. Let’s start with the personal ones regarding the studies. If you remember, back in September when the semester started I wrote down the breakdown of the three classes I’m taking:

If we start from the top: the Consumer Theory was a very detailed and advanced math class. It included indifference curves (multi-variable functions), and budget restrictions, finding the consumer demand curve related to price, income (Engel curve), and price of other products. Curve elasticity, Marginal Rate of Substitution, Effect of substitution and of income according to Hicks and Slutsky, DRP relations, Consumtion over time (investing or loaning), and inflation effects, Labor supply, etc, etc…
(Wow, there’s really everything on wikipedia – please remind me not to do this with the two other classes… I’ll be stuck in front of the computer forever).

In this class I had recorded online lessons. I heard them, I understood, I wrote it down, I forgot. Three days ago I started study (after I had finished the exam on the 23rd in accounting). We were allowed one A4 page written on both sides, so while I studied I wrote in Times New Roman size 8 all over the page (used tables to fill out every single little space) while also re-learning it all (wasn’t too hard, I just needed to be reminded of it all). The test was done today. A few difficult questions, for some reason they really loved to hit us with half-linear and concave indifference curves.

The accounting. Now that was fun. I already study a professional accounting class for work (exam in July) and work with it. What this had to offer was first of all a wider view of the profficiency, an idea of the work of the auditor and the different rules that are applied. However, the book still teaches mostly according to FASB principles, and Israel started to work with IFRS standards from the beginning of 2008. Large portions of the books were ditched, and a lot of additional material was made available on the web site. Unit 11 wasn’t taught at all (I guess that would only go in times of inflation). That test I did this past Monday. Same A4 paper thing there, but I was more prepared since I know this subject from other sources (but many things are unique for this class to me – like stocks and bonds and options etc… my job doesn’t deal with that nor have we learned it in the regular accounting class yet). One question that made me laugh was when we were asked to handle R&D costs for developing a medicine “for stress relief with accountants because of the change to the new IFRS standard”. Hah!

The macro-economy. Nothing. I’ve handed in all papers I need to, but I’ve enlisted to do the test in May. It was just too much with 3 classes at once. I had to survive somehow.

Future: Do a test in English in the end of March to prove that I speak English (do I?) and start the two (only two!) classes I’m taking this spring. Introduction to Financing, and Introduction to Management Accounting and Pricing. I need both these and the English exam to be accepted to the advanced class I intend to take after the summer. Analysis of Financial Reports. Only one class. It’s the first time I’ll take an advanced one. And next spring I will not take any classes at all, because I’ll be working on a seminary essay in that.

Ok, enough bragging…

One other thing that made me postpone this post is that it’s number 300. It has to be something special! Has to! Right? It’s a little anniversary! My 300th blog post since I started in November 2006. Woho!

In work news we had a seminar about personal developement, and setting goals and time frames, and developing and evaluating progress etc etc. I ave around 10 goals to reach by the end of 2009. Some easy some really hard.

On the personal note…

Me and my wife discovered the game of scrabble. We have an old one from the 50’s that we inherited from my grandfather’s late wife. It’s fun (the scrabble, not the wife). Unfortunally I always loose (mostly) but never mind… now she has obtained the official letter count and letter score of Swedish scrabble just to be able to convert the language. Great. Guess who is better than who in Swedish…?

We have turtles! Through some contacts we have been able to get two small turtles who now live in our back yard. Their names are Skalman and Botvid. The kids love them.

From some time next week I will start to take care of my congregation’s accounting. This will be fun and easy. Not like at work… =) They’ve asked me earlier but I’ve demanded to finish my tests first.

On a more international news note, I’m glad to learn that all deadly conflicts in the world are solved. In the past there have been killings in Darfur, Uganda, Somalia, Sri Lanka, etc. But apparently that is all gone and the world has become overnight a place of care bears. The news apparently don’t even have anything to report about anymore, so they fill their sites with news about Obama family dog purchases, and Swedish princess Victoria’s engagement to a “commoner”. I am so happy to hear this. Now we just need to start an international soldier knitting contest, to keep the soldiers of the world busy with something useful until we have dismissed them all and disarmed all weapons.

And we will finish with a philosophical question: If an accountant makes journal entries in the middle of the woods, and no auditor is around to audit him. Does he still KICK ASS?

Now I need to get some dishes done and then fall asleep as soon as possible. I can barely stand straight anymore. I slept 2 hours last night and 3 hours the night before that. Sat up almost all night and studied for the test. Good night.

By the way, do a quick google or wikipedia search on Jean-Francois Champollion. Now there’s a pure genius!

The video – Darfur Destroyed: Sudan’s Perpetrators – features testimony from Janjaweed and Sudanese soldiers who participated in atrocities. The four men featured include a high-ranking Janjaweed commander, a senior officer in the Sudan Army, a Janjaweed soldier and a Sudanese soldier.

They describe how they were recruited, how they were paid, and – most chilling – what they did. How they attacked villages, how they killed civilians, how they raped women.

Too close. Too tight. No one has any idea who the next PM will be. I keep hoping that it’s Bibbi. According to the internet, in my local neighborhood Likud received 37% of the votes, and Kadima 8%. But then, we’re a settlement. Lieberman and the Nationalist-Zionist party also got more votes than Kadima here.

Anyway, I went to vote, got behind the booth. I just love democracy. I like to stand there and feel the power. Feel like I’m the king of the world. Knowing that I still could, at the last moment, vote for those parties that I hate, looking through all the little notes that you could pick from with all the different party names. One strange thing I noted though – somehow, for some reason there were no arab parties represented at all. Now, granted, you are allowed to take an empty note and scribble the letters by yourself, so it’s not a blow to democracy. And I agree that settlers will probably not vote for arab parties in any case. Still, it’s a bit weird… it made me feel less like king of the world. I had a less accessible opportunity to vote for some of the parties that want to throw me out of my home.

In Zimbabwe, Tsvangirai is finally sworn in as Prime Minister. They only had the elections a year ago. Good for them. Finally some hope for Zimbabwe. Let’s hope the process takes less time here in Israel…

In this speach, Bibbi brings up the exact reasons why I am voting for him. I hate his economic and his welfare views, and there is a marginal party (Brit Olam) that believes in the same welfare policies as I. But I can’t vote for a marginal welfare party when the survival of my homeland is at stake. I need to protect my home. I will vote Likud today.
Sorry, mom.

I’m on my way to the vote booth in my car
Thinking of who to vote for
Maybe for the left?
Maybe for the right?
Maybe for the center who are the current leaders?
But what would be the point?
I wonder

Our state needs a clever leader
One who can communicate with the world
One who can scare our enemies
A strong leader with balls
But what would be the point?
I wonder

I wonder when I wonder where
This people has made mistakes throughout time
There is one natural solution
The jewish brain
I pick up the white little note
Pick up, put down, pick up, put down again
There is one natural solution
The jewish brain

(interlude)

Maybe a young leader? Maybe a stubborn?
Just not a lazy one
Maybe an old, who has been through a lot?
May he just not forget about me
Then what would be the point?
I wonder

Tsippi Livni – that is unreasonable
Ehud Barak is a little treacherous

There is one reasonable little white note
I will put it in the envelope to bring a change
There will suddenly be a point
I wonder

I wonder when I wonder where
This people has made mistakes throughout time
There is one natural solution
The jewish brain
I pick up the white little note
Pick up, put down, pick up, put down again
There is one natural solution
The jewish brain

I wonder when I wonder where
This people has made mistakes throughout time
There is one natural solution
There is one natural solution
There is one natural solution
Vote for Bibbi